Is John Oliver The Most Powerful Man in America? (And, Will He Drink That Bud Light Lime?)

Back in 2008, I blogged that Jon Stewart had been named the journalist people most admired, according to Pew Research.

So, it seems rather fitting that as Stewart makes his exit from The Daily Show, I blog today about the man who seems to be taking his place of influence, albeit on another show and channel: John Oliver.

Over the past two years, Oliver has taken the soccer/football organization, FIFA to task for their unbridled corruption. And, in Sunday’s episode, he noted that despite the clear evidence of said corruption and some arrests of top officials, FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter remained at the helm.

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Recognizing that the “only people with the power to get rid of Sepp Blatter are FIFA’s sponsors,” Oliver begged the companies to pull out until Blatter is removed.

Now, John is known for mocking certain brands and some of those brands happen to be FIFA’s sponsors.

So, on Sunday’s show, unable to stop himself from insulting the sponsors he beseeched, Oliver vowed to:

wear one of Adidas’ “ugly” shoes, which he says will make him look “like the Greek God of aspiring DJs”

to take a bite out of every item on McDonald’s Dollar Menu, which he says “tastes like it was cursed by a vindictive wizard”

and to drink an entire Bud Light Lime, which he says “tastes like a puddle beneath a Long John Silver’s Dumpster”

Not exactly a page out of Dale Carnegie, here.

But, of course, just yesterday, it was announced that Blatter is being removed from his post as FIFA’s president.

Jennifer Jones-Mitchell

A global leader in social media marketing, Jennifer Jones-Mitchell has been at the center of traditional and digital PR since the mid 90s and has helped launch some of the world's most loved brands. She has been blogging about PR and social media marketing since 2007. Learn more at: www.jenniferjonesmitchell.com